ved not as a distant tastemaker but as a storyteller eager to connect. His conversation drifted easily between spirituality and silhouette, politics and pop culture, always circling back to a simple truth: power can, and perhaps should, be soft. In a world that moves at the speed of virality, Gurung keeps choosing intimacy, courage and care. His mission is as timeless as his tailoring – to prove that real power doesn’t harden; it softens. Because in his hands, fashion isn’t just about what we wear. It’s about how we choose to see each other. Finding home – again and again If his early career was about access – finding a way in – his present is about belonging. His latest collection, “Home Sweet Home: The Book of Magic”, tells that story in fabric. Inspired by women in Nepal and India “hiking up their saris, either to fight or to dance,” it celebrates resilience and joy in equal measure. “Home isn’t geography,” he said. “It’s community, culture, soul.” New York is one of those homes. So is Melbourne, where he once lived quietly in his twenties, long before fame came calling. He calls New York “a meritocracy that demands conviction but rewards abundance,” and Melbourne “a place that helped me feel free.” And the studio? That, he says, is his truest home. “My work is my holiday,” he joked. “The sketching, the draping, the fittings – it’s intoxicating. It’s better than sex.” Beneath the humour lies his core truth: that joy is his practice. Power can be soft “Nepal is where my soul is,” he said. “It’s where my identity lies.” Gurung grew up surrounded by strong, gracious women – his mother, grandmother, aunts and sister – who “carried entire households with such dignity.” They showed him that strength isn’t about force but poise. “Power can be soft. Grace isn’t a posture; it’s a practice.” Those early lessons underpin his entire career. Whether he’s dressing Michelle Obama, Kamala Harris or Beyoncé, Gurung leads with empathy. His clothes carry a kind of confidence that whispers rather than shouts – beauty rooted in self-assurance. But as a boy in an all-male boarding school, that perspective set him apart. “Apparently I used to say, ‘Mum, I know my worth, the world just needs to catch up,’” he laughed. That mix of vulnerability and defiance would later become his creative compass in an industry that didn’t always see space for someone like him. Turning otherness into a superpower Before New York, there was New Delhi. Working under designer Manish Arora taught Gurung that clothes could do more than decorate – they could tell stories. “A garment carries the past, the present and the possible,” he said. Immersed in India’s chaos and beauty, he learned to thrive amid difference. So when he launched his label in 2009 – during a global recession – he approached it with that same spirit. After being told he “wasn’t talented enough,” he relied on community rather than capital. Former Bill Blass seamstresses volunteered to sew his first collection, one dress apiece, unpaid. “I was built by love and community,” he said. “They lifted me up. Most of them were women.” Failure didn’t scare him then, and it doesn’t now. “If I have a superpower, it’s zero fear of failure,” he said. “I fall, I rise, I create again.” That cycle has become part of his DNA – reflected in his diverse casting choices, his kaleidoscopic use of colour and his refusal to flatten identity into trend. Building a brand that lasts Before launching his brand, Gurung trained at Bill Blass, surrounded by tailors and seamstresses from the world’s great maisons. It was couture in its strictest form – equal parts artistry and discipline. “That’s where I learned to respect the craft,” he said. But he also saw the fragility of legacy. “You must know whom you partner with as an investor,” he added. “It’s more important than who you marry.” That experience made independence his lifeline. “When creativity is driven only by money, the soul collapses,” he said. His approach to growth is slow, deliberate and personal. The right investor, he jokes, must come with “heart, integrity, patience and a love of levity.” It’s a method that’s worked. From the Women’s Wear Daily headline that announced “A Star Is Born” to his long collaboration with Anna Wintour and the Met Gala, Gurung has resisted fashion’s obsession with immediacy. “I’m not racing to be the next big thing,” he said. “Longevity is the real goal.”